I like the idea of the baby/doggie gate the best. Easy to remove when you need to. No little 2-legged ones here, but 4 4-legged and DH has built some attractive oak gates that keep our babies in or out of whatever. The downside at our house is the Border Collie "Cubbie" has mastered the art of unlatching a couple of the gates, even though they're different latches on all 4 gates. She's just WAY to smart for us! The toddler person will figure it out soon enough, but this seems easiest for now. You need to remember that in a true emergency, you need to be able to get out in a hurry and not have to fiddle around with fancy fixes. Hang in there, they grow up.....then you REALLY have problems!